Huawei’s Alsatian site should begin production at the end of 2025, two years late.
At the beginning of 2020, Huawei announced the installation of a factory in France, a first in Europe for the Chinese telecoms giant. It is in Alsace that the manufacturer will have its factory, but the project has fallen behind schedule. While it was initially supposed to emerge from the ground and begin its activity in 2023, it will ultimately have to wait until 2025.
Huawei in turmoil
This was announced by Minggang Zhang, deputy general manager of the French subsidiary of Huawei, at the microphone of France Inter. According to the manufacturer’s new schedule, the site will be able to start production from the end of 2025.
The factory will produce equipment for mobile networks, including 5G antennas. A type of sensitive material closely monitored by authorities in different European countries and around the world. Huawei has in fact been accused of having left backdoors in certain network equipment for espionage purposes and of collaborating with the Chinese government.
The United States and other Anglo-Saxon countries have banned the installation of Huawei network equipment in their territories. The group is also hit by heavy economic sanctions, preventing it from using other companies’ technologies.
Alsace will supply Europe with Huawei devices
The European Commission also called for distrust, encouraging states to put in place security measures against potential threats from Huawei. In France, it is not possible for operators to install new network equipment without authorization from the National Information Systems Security Agency (Anssi). Introduced in 2019, this law was aptly nicknamed “ anti-Huawei ».
Questioned by journalist Alexandra Bensaid on this subject, Minggang Zhang wants to be reassuring. He said that Huawei is working closely with the European Union to show its credentials, while Germany is still considering banning the brand’s (and ZTE’s) network equipment from 2026.
Huawei will invest 200 million euros in the factory, which should ultimately generate 500 jobs. A billion products should be manufactured there per year, the objective being to “supply the entire European market”.
Source : France Inter
7